Educational research has increasingly identified the importance of early childhood education, and, in particular, pre-kindergarten (“pre-K”) education, in facilitating the likelihood that children will get the most out of a conventional primary education. It is important, however, for children to be presented with developmentally-appropriate learning activities. For example, young children learn best by doing, and, in particular, by participating actively in physical and sensory experiences. Their attention spans are short, so lessons must be quick. They think and communicate in a direct fashion and this is what they understand. Thus, lessons likewise should be straightforward. Further, social interaction engages them emotionally and helps them retain their learning. Thus, engaging group activities, often in the form of games, are a way favored by educators to encourage Pre-K children to learn effectively in enjoyable, stress-free ways.
Often times, the “three Ms” of music, math, and movement, are key components in creating this joyful learning atmosphere. Activities communicated in rhyme and/or to music give children experience with an essential literacy skill, while maintaining a math subject focus. Rhymes and songs are predictable, and quickly become familiar and memorable for children and teachers alike.
It has also become apparent that early learning should focus upon developing certain foundation skills that are helpful to condition children for learning more difficult concepts later in life and, in particular, in a common classroom environment. A first such foundation skill is fine motor skills. Physical play and tasks provide children with fine motor challenges that not only build muscle strength and control, but which also are believed to be crucial for developing neurological pathways for future learning. The development of social skills is also a focus of current early learning. Pre-K group learning oftentimes provides a child's first experience in a larger group of children. Therefore, pre-K group learning activities also can serve as a valuable training ground for acceptable and/or desirable group and classroom behavior, such as turn-taking, volume control, cooperation, sharing and manners in general.
Another foundation skill includes the conditioning of children to understand to concept of symbols. Schools rely heavily upon symbols and representation of concepts, while children learn naturally in the real world by direct experience with people, places and things. Early learning can be used to condition children to adapt quickly to a conventional school environment, a world of symbols that includes letters, numbers, reading, writing and arithmetic. Pre-K is successful when it continues active real world learning while easing children into the world of symbols.
Pre-K children are also in a stage of development where they are learning to organize. Pre-K children absorb ideas and skills quickly, but, without understanding how to group and organize, what they know and learn may be random, with little organizational structure. They need opportunities to learn the relationships among things, to sort, categorize, compare, order, and describe, other important foundation skills. They can accomplish these tasks through play situations, structured or unstructured, and engaging teacher-directed activities. By doing this, children make sense of their world.
A great deal of current research also points to the importance of the development of math and spatial skills during early learning. The National Research Council (2009) recommends that early childhood math experiences concentrate on (1) numbers (which includes whole number, operations, and relations) and (2) geometry, spatial relations, and measurements with a greater concentration of time focused on numbers.
The demand for pre-K children to meet learning goals is greater than ever before, and it is one aim of one or more inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits tools that allow engaging activities that create an atmosphere of discovery, keeping children's attention and allowing them to learn essential concepts without stress.
Further, it is another aim of one or more inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that encourage peer interaction and positive teacher/child interaction, helping children to develop critical social/emotional skills such as self-regulation and respect for others.
Additionally, it is an aim of one or more of the inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that develop key foundation skills in pre-K children, including fine motor skills and early math skills that will be used in future learning of broader math concepts.
Also, it is an aim of one or more of the inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that enable children, singly or in group settings, to engaging in a plurality of different learning activities that utilize manipulator devices that teach the children foundational math concepts, such as counting, grouping, and ordering objects, in enjoyable ways.
Furthermore, it is an aim of one or more of the inventions disclosed herein to provide learning kits and tools that teach and promote the exploration of numbers and developmentally appropriate math concepts in essential math domains, such as geometry, spatial relations, and measurement, with engaging activities while also promoting fine motor skill development and social development.